Notice Me, Ruby!
Epilogue 2: A New LION
Inside the dorm room of team RWBY, the three older members of the team were waiting silently to hear from their team leader, Ruby Rose. Not too long ago, they had received a message from Ozpin saying that today it would be decided whether Ruby would advance to a third-year student or stay as a first-year.
While there were no real objections to having the young redhead become a third-year, the headmaster had written in his message that the decision would ultimately be made by Ruby herself and no one else, so there was still a chance for her to remain in team RWBY.
Despite the chance of Ruby staying in their team, the three older girls of the team couldn't help but worry that they would no longer have their fourth member of the team with them. They knew the reason as to why Ruby had been avoiding them for so long and were aware of the damage they had done to their relationship towards their young team leader. In all honesty, none of them could really blame Ruby, if she were to take the offer to advance and leave their team for good.
However, even if they were practically certain that Ruby would choose to advance into a third-year, they all hoped that she wouldn't. The little redhead had become an irreplaceable person for them and they couldn't imagine their team functioning properly without her. This was especially true for Yang, who was actually in love with Ruby. She couldn't bear the thought of being on their team without the redheaded girl.
For now, the three girls were all trying to do something to pass the time, while waiting to hear about Ruby's possible advancement. Weiss was going through notes and Blake was reading a book, although the two girls were clearly not able to properly concentrate. Yang was simply sitting on her bed with a sad look on her face, waiting for what was to come.
After some time had passed, the sound of the dorm's door opening caused the three girls to turn their gazes at the entrance to the dorm. Ruby had finally returned from Ozpin's office and had come back to tell her teammates her decision.
Immediately upon seeing their team leader, the WBY got up and walked up to their team leader. The three older girl were now standing next to each other in front of Ruby, waiting for the younger girl to speak.
"You guys probably know already, but I was meeting with Professor Ozpin," Ruby began. "He told me that I could either join team LION or stay with team RWBY. The choice was left to me."
"...So what did you choose?" Yang asked fearfully.
A tense silence fell over the room, as the three older girls waited for their team leader's answer. Yang was especially nervous, as she silently prayed inside her mind that Ruby would be staying with them.
"...I will be joining team LION," the redhead finally answered, crushing the hopes of the older girls. "It will be official tomorrow."
"Ruby, please don't leave us!" Weiss tried to beg. "We're sorry for what we did and-!"
"I KNOW ALREADY!" Ruby yelled, stopping the white-haired girl's pleas. "Yang told me already and even Ozpin himself tried to get me to stay! However, it just… It just wouldn't make sense for me to stay in this team, okay!? After everything that happened, after all those things that you guys said about me, how could I just forget about it and pretend like it never happened!? Besides, joining with team LION has so many benefits for me that-!"
The redhead's rant was interrupted by Yang walking up to the younger girl and putting her hands on her shoulders. Much to everybody's surprise, the blonde didn't look like she was upset at all. In fact, she was smiling.
"It's okay. We understand," Yang said calmly. "We are in no position to deny you your chance at advancing as a Huntress nor to get into a team that you feel comfortable with. No matter what, you will have our support."
Weiss and Blake looked at each other for a moment, both wondering what their teammate was doing. They had been certain that Yang would be the one to protest Ruby's decision the most.
"I'm honestly happy for you. I mean, I already knew you were amazing since you got accepted to Beacon early, but now you're even advancing to third-year before any of us!" the brawler continued. "This is a big step towards reaching your dream, after all. It would be kind of crazy of you to pass it."
"You… You're not upset at all?" Ruby asked, surprised by Yang's actions. "But didn't you ask me to stay with the team? I thought you wanted me around."
"Of course I do! I still want you to be in our team!" the blonde said. "However, above all else, I want YOU to be happy. If that means leaving team RWBY and joining another team, who am I to stop you? It just means that you couldn't find what you were looking for with us."
"Thank you, Yang… For understanding," the redhead said as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Don't get me wrong. I still care about you all and I'm a bit worried over what will happen now, but I-"
"Say no more, Rubes. Say no more," Yang said as she placed a finger on the younger girl's lips to stop her speech. She then began to wipe the tears away from Ruby's eyes. "We are all aware of how you feel about us, but we won't hold you back. And don't feel obligated over our safety. We can take of ourselves. I'll make sure the princess and the kitty won't get harmed."
For a moment it seemed like Ruby was struggling to say something, but instead just hugged Yang as tightly as she could. The older girl returned the gesture happily and the two girls stayed like that for a moment, offering comfort to each other. Once Ruby had calmed down a bit, she pulled away from the blonde.
"So when will you be leaving then?" Blake decided to ask. "You still have your stuff here, so do you need to pack right away?"
"My change will be official tomorrow, so I don't need to go to team LION's dorm right away. Besides, they need to make some arrangements as well, such as getting my bed ready in the dorm," Ruby explained. "However, tomorrow I need to meet up with team LION, as they need to guide me through how my studies will be done from now on. So I should get my stuff ready for tomorrow already."
"We can help you out with that, if you want," Weiss offered with a small sad smile. "It's the least we can do."
"Thanks, Weiss," the scythe-wielder said with a smile.
"But doesn't that mean that once you've packed your stuff, you'll have the rest of the day for yourself?" Yang asked. "How about you spend rest of the day with us? One last time with team RWBY for old times sake?"
"Well, the members of LION might be expecting me to come see them, but I think I can spend the day with you guys. Just let me call them first," Ruby said before taking out her Scroll and calling Elaine. Once the call was over, she turned to look at her soon-to-be-former teammates. "Okay. They know that I'm going to be here for today, so it's all good."
The rest of the day went on in a joyful mood, as the four girls of team RWBY did as much as they could together. They played a bunch of games, such as video games, board games and even some card games. They talked about all sorts of stuff, shared stories and told some jokes. Weiss even ordered them some food to be delivered to their dorm. The four girls went on like this, having a great time together all the way past midnight even. All four girls never stopped smiling throughout the whole thing. It was almost as of they had forgotten about their team leader leaving altogether.
However, all good things must come to an end, as did the fun time of team RWBY.
The next morning, Ruby was making last preparations before leaving, checking that she had packed all of her stuff and that she looked good as in order to not give a bad impression to the third-year students. As she was doing this, the three older girls were silently watching her, trying to hold back their emotions over their dear leader leaving them.
"Okay, it seems I've got everything ready," Ruby said as she finished making her preparations. She turned to look at her teammates, who soon wouldn't be that. "So… I'll be leaving now."
"...Would you like to say anything to us, before going?" Weiss managed to ask while holding back her tears.
"...I suppose I should say something to all of you," the redhead said after thinking about her ex-partner's question. "Let's start with you, Weiss."
"Y-Yes?" the heiress stuttered.
"I know we haven't been all that good with each other. I'll admit that there were times that I must have annoyed you by my antics, but I want you to know that I did all of that as a way to make you accept me. I hope that you at least in some way accepted me not only as your teammate, partner and leader, but also as your friend," Ruby said. "If there is anything I'd like to ask of you, it would be that you should try to ease up a bit. All things don't have to be absolutely perfect in order to be acceptable and there will always be flaws. Just be ready to accept other people, despite their flaws, okay?"
"I understand, Ruby. I will do my best," Weiss said with a smile. "And don't worry about me accepting you. I might not have shown it well, but I did so long ago already."
"Thank you, Weiss. I appreciate that," the redhead said before turning her attention to Blake. "Next up, Blake."
"Yes, Ruby?" the faunus girl asked.
"I know that you've had it rough and I can most likely never truly understand what you've been through. However, I hope that from now on, you will be more open to the idea of letting more people get close to you. I'm sure that as you talk with people you can trust, you'll find out that life gets a lot easier to deal with, no matter what is thrown at you," Ruby said, before a small smirk made its way to her face. "Also, you might want to try some other books outside of the type of stuff "Ninjas Of Love" is. People might otherwise get a wrong impression of you, okay?"
"I'll keep that in mind," Blake said with a slight embarrassed blush on her face. "I will also do my best to not be so distant anymore. I promise."
"Good to hear that, Blake," the scythe-wielder said. She then turned her attention to the last person of team RWBY. "And finally, Yang."
The blonde didn't say anything and simply waited in silence for what Ruby was going to say to her.
"I'm not going to lie. The last few months were… rough, to say the least. Mostly because of you," Ruby said with a tired sigh. "You've really put me through quite the emotional roller coaster, haven't you? First there was the whole thing of you all talking about me behind my back, then you tried all those crazy plots that only served to anger or humiliate me. Finally you revealed the truth about my father and that really hit me hard as well."
"I… I'm sorry," Yang said in a dejected tone.
"But despite all of that, you are still very important to me, no matter what happened," the redhead continued, surprising the blonde girl. "There's nothing that can take away all the great memories I've made together with you throughout my entire life. Not to mention, now I know that you did all those things out of wanting to get close to me again. And while you did go overboard, your heart was still in the right place. Let's just do our best to forget about those events and NEVER repeat anything like that ever again."
"Thanks, Rubes," Yang said as happy tears were starting to fall from her eyes. "I'm glad you understand why I did what I did. And I'm still sorry for the trouble I caused."
"It's alright, Yang. It's all water under the bridge now," Ruby said with a smile. "To be honest, I'm going to miss you the most when I start working with team LION. You've been such a big part of my life that has always been there for me that I wonder if I can get used to not having you around. I'm grateful that you've always helped and protected me through some tough times. Now I want you to do the same for Weiss and Blake as well. I know I can count on you to keep this team safe."
"I absolutely will do so, Rubes. You don't need to worry about that," the brawler said. "Before you go, can I get one last hug?"
Ruby didn't say anything. Instead she smiled and walked up to the older girl and wrapped her arms around Yang's body, who also did the same for the younger girl. The two girls were soon joined by their other teammates, making it into a group hug. Once the hug was broken up, Ruby said her goodbyes to the three older girls, grabbed her luggage and walked out of the door, leaving the WBY on their own.
For a moment, the three girls simply stood in silence, letting the fact that their team leader had truly left sink in.
"She's… She's really gone, isn't she?" Weiss said, finally breaking the silence, as a tear fell from her eye. "Ruby has now truly left our team and she will never come back here ever again."
"Don't be so dramatic, Weiss. It's not that bad of a situation," Blake said. "While she might not be part of team RWBY any longer, I'm sure we'll see her again. It just won't be an everyday thing from now on."
The heiress was angered by her teammate's comment and turned towards the cat faunus in order to give her a piece of her mind. However, upon seeing the state Blake was in, all of her anger disappeared in an instant. The raven-haired girl was tightly gripping her arms in a way to keep herself composed and had even turned her face away from her teammates in order to hide the tears falling down her face. Despite this, Weiss was able to notice some of the tears falling to the floor.
"You dolt… Say that stuff when you're not on the verge of breaking down," the white-haired girl muttered to Blake.
"By the way, I'm kind of surprised by the way you reacted, Yang. I was certain that you would lose your cool upon hearing Ruby's decision," the cat faunus said. "How come you were so supportive of her decision? I thought that you were in love with Ruby."
"It's because I love Ruby that I was so supportive of her," Yang replied without turning around to look at her teammates. "Of course I'm going to miss her. I wanted her to stay on our team, together with us. However, love is not about making yourself happy, it's about making the one you love happy. Had I tried to stop her or tried to make her change her decision, who would I have been truly caring about? Myself or Ruby? No matter what, I will always choose Ruby over myself, so I did the one thing that would make her happy. Even if it hurts."
"But you do realize that this will be very hard on you, right?" Weiss asked. "Ruby will now be part of a third-year team, which means that she will be going to different classes. Not only that, there will be fewer chances of seeing her at school, as the third-years mostly do field work away from school itself. You might have to wait for several days just for the chance to see her in person."
"I'll manage. Like Blake said, we will surely see her again. Not just as often as before," the blonde answered. "I love her far too much to let something like this become too big of a problem for me."
"Things will be tough from now on, though," Blake said. "Just by losing one member of our team our fighting potential has lessened. We will also need to rethink our teamwork, now that a big part of our team is gone. And that is just the tip of the iceberg…"
"We will get through this. We just have to work a lot harder than before," Yang said. "The only ones that we can blame for this are ourselves anyways, so we have to do our best to fix the mess we caused in the first place. Besides, we kind of promised Ruby that we would take care of ourselves now that she's gone."
"I guess you're right," Weiss said with a sigh and a sad smile, as she went to grab a couple of handkerchiefs and gave them to the brawler. "You've done well trying to keep yourself in check, but you don't need to do it anymore. Just let it all out already."
Tears were freely falling from Yang's eyes, along with snot from her nose, as she struggled to hold her composure. The blonde's face was one of pure sorrow and anguish, as her heart was crushed by the one she loved leaving her team.
As soon as Yang took the handkerchiefs Weiss had offered her, the blonde girl fell on her knees crying.
After Ruby had left, the remaining members of team RWBY had a tough time ahead of them. With their team now consisting of less members than others, the three girls had trouble on team assignments and combat practice. Now all of them had to put in much more work than before in order to close the gap that was left by Ruby's absence.
Combat wasn't the only issue, as the young redhead had also provided help simply through her personality that helped keep up the team's spirits. In a way, by losing Ruby, the team had lost its heart. With the scythe-wielder no longer providing support with her cheery personality and desire to help others, there were times that the remaining members of team RWBY faced dreary and sad times among themselves, where the support of the sunny personality of Ruby would have really helped them out.
However, despite the troubles they faced, the WBY never complained about it. Instead, they faced their problems head on and persevered. The way they saw it, they had no choice but to keep going, as they were the ones that had ultimately driven their leader away.
As time passed, the WBY were able to rework their combat tactics in such a way that they were not only able to keep up with the other teams, but even rise above most of them. While they weren't the number one team in the school, they were still among the best there were. The three girls were also able to mend their relationship between each other, allowing them to keep their spirit and morale up the way Ruby had used to do with them.
Despite Ruby no longer being part of their team, the three girls chose to keep the name RWBY for their team. This was both in order to honor their previous leader and to remind themselves of never taking their members for granted, so they wouldn't repeat the same mistake they had with the redhead.
The loss of Ruby had brought another big issue to the team. With the redhead gone from the team, who was going to lead them? The first candidate that everyone had turned their sights on had been Weiss. After all, the heiress was easily the smartest person in the team and had even desired the position of leader at one point. However, Weiss had surprisingly declined the offer, stating that becoming the leader this way felt wrong to her and that she would rather support whoever took on the role of team leader instead.
With the white-haired girl having denied the position of leader, all eyes fell on the remaining two members, Blake and Yang. At first, Blake was eyed as the perfect candidate for leader, but the cat faunus had other thoughts on the matter. She claimed that she didn't feel her personality was suited for such a position, as she had a history of trust issues and a tendency of running away from her problems.
Since both Weiss and Blake had declined the position of leader, that left only Yang as the last possible person to take up the job. Unlike her two teammates, the blonde didn't hesitate on taking the position, stating that she felt like it was her responsible to do it after Ruby had left. With Yang as the only member of the team willing to take up the leadership of team RWBY, it was decided that the brawler would be the new team leader.
Things didn't go smoothly at first for Yang as leader. The new duties and responsibilities she was now facing felt heavy and even suffocating on her, causing the usually cheery blonde to doubt herself. Luckily for her, Weiss and Blake were there to assist and support her, taking off some of the load from her shoulders. Yang could only wonder how Ruby had ever managed to take on such a demanding task by herself.
The start had been a hard one, but through sheer willpower and support from each other, the new team RWBY managed to emerge stronger than before. One could only wonder and fantasize, what the team would be like, if they still had their old leader with them.
It had been several months since Ruby had left team RWBY and outside of a few text messages none of the three girls had seen or heard from their former leader at all. The redhead had been too busy with her current work as part of team LION, as their assignments required far more work than students on first or second year. None of the girls from WBY said it out loud, but they all terribly missed their old leader and friend, especially Yang.
At the moment, Weiss and Blake were the only ones in their dorm, with the heiress helping out her teammate in her studies. Their current leader was away on some important meeting that required the presence of all first-year team leaders.
"So you see, mixing these two types of Dust gives your weapon a sort of a "power boost" in a way, but it should never be used on a person themselves. Not even their clothes or armor," Weiss explained to the cat faunus. "There are elements there that are used to create flames, which are good for offensive techniques. However, they can easily catch on fire, which is why you should keep them away from yourself or else you might set yourself on fire."
"I see. It makes sense now," Blake said with a relieved smile. "Thanks, Weiss. That really helped me out."
"No problem. I'm glad to help out a friend," Weiss said happily, but quickly turned sad. "I just wish I had been a better friend back when Ruby was still around…"
The raven-haired girl didn't know what to say to her friend's words. As much as she wanted to comfort the heiress, she knew it wasn't possible. All the possible comforting words had been said between the three girls of team RWBY and no longer offered any more help. The departure of Ruby from the team had left a permanent shadow hanging over the three girls.
Luckily for the two girls, it was at that moment that their last teammate came back to the dorm, having finished with the meeting concerning team leaders. Both Weiss and Blake turned to look at Yang, as she stepped inside.
"Hey Yang. How was the meeting?" Blake greeted her partner. "Did it go well?"
"That's something I kind of need to talk about with you two," Yang replied. "The meeting was about having us first-year students cooperating with third-years."
"You mean like how Oobleck and Elaine told us back when Ruby first started to work with team LION!?" Weiss asked, getting a nod from the blonde. "Does this mean that we might be sent on a mission with some third-year team!?"
"Most likely," Yang answered with a shrug. "However, something a bit weird happened after the whole thing."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"Once the whole thing was over, Professor Goodwitch came up to me and asked me to bring you guys with me to see Ozpin as soon as possible," the blonde explained. "She didn't tell me why, just told me to get you guys to the headmaster's office and fast."
"That's odd… Could it be that the team we'll be working with has already been decided?" Weiss wondered.
"Hard to say. It would be a bit strange, as we were told that teams were still being assigned, so that shouldn't be the case," Yang explained. "Whatever the case, we'll just have to go and see for ourselves."
Agreeing with their blonde friend's statement, the three girls of team RWBY began to make their way to Ozpin's office. It didn't take long until they were standing at the doors to the headmaster's room. After knocking on the door, the three girls were invited inside and in front of both Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch.
"Ah, team RWBY. Thank you for coming here on such a short notice," the headmaster greeted his students. "I hope my sudden call for you three didn't cause any problems."
"It's alright, headmaster. None of us were busy at the time," Yang replied politely. "Anyways, why did you want to see us, professor?"
"Well, I'm sure you all have a pretty good guess as to why I called you here," Ozpin said with a smile. "It's about the whole assignment, where you get to work with older students. You see, while normally it would take some time until all first-years get assigned to missions, a special request had been made for you three especially in advance. Those third-year students that made the request are on their way right now."
"Someone requested us specifically? But who would-?" Yang began to wonder out loud, until an idea hit her, causing her eyes to go wide. She looked at both Weiss and Blake, who seemed to have gotten the same idea. "You don't mean to tell me that-!?"
"I see you've figured it out, Ms. Xiao Long," the headmaster said. "It is indeed them."
It was right at that moment that the door to the office opened and a group of people walked in. The three girls of RWBY turned around and saw a group of familiar faces enter.
"Hey, you three! Did you miss me?" a familiar voice called out.
The group that had entered were the members of team LION. Elaine Lambert, Isabella Irons, Oliver Dunston, Nilo Temor and their newest member that had called out to the three first-year students, Ruby Rose.
A look of pure happiness came to Yang's face over seeing her beloved rose again after so long.
"So… It seems that you guys have been missing Ruby for quite some time now, huh?" Elaine asked as the group consisting of two teams was flying towards the destination of their assignment. "I'm not quite sure whether I should find what happened at Ozpin's office endearing or somewhat disturbing."
The three members of team RWBY had embarrassed blushed on their faces, as did their former leader. Almost as soon as the three girls had seen Ruby, they broke into tears and tackled the younger girl into a big group hug. Once that had been broken up, they began bombarding the bewildered redhead with all sorts of questions, asking if she was okay like a trio of overprotective moms.
It was only thanks to Glynda Goodwitch using her Semblance that the emotional episode between the members of team RWBY had been able to be calmed down.
"Well, can you really blame us!?" Weiss argued. "It's been a long time since we last saw Ruby, so it's perfectly understandable that we would be overjoyed when we finally get to see her!"
"I'm happy that you feel that way about me, Weiss, but I think you're overreacting a bit," Ruby said. "I mean, you should know that I can look out for myself, right? Not only that, but I have a whole team of third-year students looking out for me as well. I think I'm in pretty safe hands."
"That might be true, but we still can't help but worry," Yang said in a serious tone, surprising everyone. "Despite everything that happened, we still love you and deeply care about you, Rubes. It would kill us to find out that you got hurt or worse while we were not there to keep you safe. We might get to talk with you through our Scrolls every now and then, but that is not the same thing as seeing you in person. Especially when you might hide things from us. Is it any wonder that we would worry?"
The blonde girl's serious words shut down any argument Ruby could have given, leaving her in silent. This was carried out to everybody else, leaving the Bullhead completely quiet.
"...So anyways, we should probably go through the details of our assignment, right?" Isabella said somewhat awkwardly, trying to switch the topic and lighten the mood. "You guys still remember what Ozpin told us to do?"
"Are you perhaps asking because you don't know yourself?" Ruby asked with a knowing smirk.
"Hey!" the white-haired girl yelled back before looking down at her feet with an embarrassed blush. "Yeah…"
The others had a small laugh at the expense of their friend, before quickly calming down.
"Okay, so for the sake of Isabella and anyone else that missed the mission briefing, let's go through this one more time," Elaine began. "Our mission is to investigate a large gathering of Deathstalkers that have been sighted very close to a village. We are to eliminate all the Grimm in the area and find out what was gathering them there."
"Anything we should know about before going on the field?" Weiss asked.
"Well, there is one thing that you guys should know about," the third-year team leader said with a small grin. "I won't be the commander on this mission. That job will be handled by Ruby here."
"Wait… Ruby is going to be the leader!?" Blake asked with wide eyes, as her own teammates looked equally surprised. "But we thought you were the team leader of team LION!"
"I still am. However, Ruby here is our second in command," Elaine replied while gently rubbing the younger redhead's hair. "When she became part of our team, we decided to give her the position, as she was more than capable of handing it. In case I'm not available, she takes control of our team. We decided to switch it for this assignment to see how well she can manage a larger group and give her more experience in leadership."
"I see… I guess it makes sense for her to have such a position on your team," Blake said. "I mean, she does have experience when it comes to leadership."
"You bet! It's a real blessing to have her around!" Isabella said enthusiastically. "I can't even count all the times that she has saved our asses from trouble! Ruby is simply the best!"
"I think that the issue with you not being able to count all the times Ruby has saved us is a rather simple one," Elaine said with a smirk. "In order to do that, you would have to be able to count in the first place."
"HEY! I can count just fine!" the embarrassed Isabella shouted with a red face.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't you fail your last math test?" Ruby added with a smirk.
"Not you as well, Ruby!"
While everyone else was laughing at Isabella's expense, Yang was looking at Ruby with a small yet sad smile on her face. The blonde was glad to see that any fears she might have had over Ruby being in a third-year team were unnecessary. Not only had she become part of a team that respected and loved her, but Ruby was also apparently doing well in terms of her studies to become a Huntress.
However, Yang couldn't help but feel sad and jealous. Her beloved redhead had been part of their team and should still be. Had she and her other teammates not done the mistake of looking down on Ruby and taking her for granted, she could still be in their team. If only things had gone differently, the brawler would have been saved from a lot of heartache.
Unfortunately, what was done was done and nothing could change that. All Yang could do was try and make the best of the future ahead of her. She just hoped it would involve Ruby.
The assignment for the two teams had gone well with almost no one getting injured. Thanks to Ruby's knowledge regarding the members of both teams, she was able to direct them in such a way that allowed the to wipe out the Grimm efficiently. Blake and Isabella were ordered to use hit-and-run tactics to drive the Grimm from the sides closer to each other, while Elaine and Weiss gave them covering fire from afar. The bulk of the Grimm was also getting hit and driven back by the combined efforts of Yang, Oliver and Ruby herself. As this was all going on, Nilo was using his Semblance to sneak around the horde of Deathstalkers, planting bombs around the creatures that ended up taking them all out in a single swoop.
However, all didn't go perfectly, as the reason for the Deathstalkers gathering around soon made its presence known. It was a much larger and older Deathstalker that seemed to have some sort of method of calling and controlling others of its kind. Once the regular Grimm had been dealt with, the big one made itself known to the Beacon students.
The battle had been a tough one, but the eight students were able to prevail and take down the beast in the end. This unfortunately didn't come without a cost. The large beast almost managed to get its claws on both Oliver and Yang, who were taken by surprise by the Grimm suddenly appearing. Luckily for the two of them, Ruby had been quick to spring into action, allowing her to save the two by striking at the giant Deathstalker with incredibly fast attacks.
What was unlucky though was that Ruby had to push herself past her own limits in order to save Yang and Oliver. This led to a situation that was all too familiar for team LION and horrifying for team RWBY.
"So… This is a deja vu, right?" Isabella asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, we have been through this exact thing before."
"While I'm not sure if you got that right, I see what you mean," Oliver answered. "This is very similar to what happened on our first mission with Ruby."
Said redhead was currently laying down in a sleeping bag, as her body refused to move due to her overexerting herself beyond her own limits. While the four original members of team LION weren't all that worried over Ruby, the three members of team RWBY were frantically panicking over the redhead's condition. The young girl herself was trying her best to ensure her old teammates that she was fine and there was no need to worry.
"Guys, I'm telling you that I'm completely fine," Ruby said tiredly to her three former teammates. "It's just a bit of exhaustion and nothing more."
"Ruby, you aren't even able to stand up! This is obviously NOT OKAY!" Weiss yelled worriedly. "'How can you expect us to calm down after seeing you collapse right in front of us and not get up!?"
"You should listen to her and stop worrying," Elaine said calmly. "I understand how you three feel, but there is no need for such panic. Ruby just overused her aura and ran burned out her body a bit. It's nothing special or dangerous even."
"What are you saying!? We have never encountered anything like this before!" Blake asked, her voice full of worry over Ruby. "I've never seen any Huntsman get brought down like this!"
"Well, it doesn't just happen out of the blue or anything like that. It requires the aura user to push their body past its limit to the point it can't take any more," the redheaded third-year explained. "Since Ruby went out of her way to save both Ollie and Yang from that Deathstalker, her body was essentially forced to shut down. All she needs is some rest and she'll be just fine."
Weiss and Blake wanted to argue about how the situation was not fine at all, but their blonde teammate said something that caught everyone's attention.
"I'm sorry… This is my fault," Yang said as tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. "If I hadn't been so careless, this wouldn't have… I was supposed to protect you and everything yet I let you get hurt like this! I'M A FAILURE!"
"N-No Yang! No!" Ruby quickly tried to comfort the crying blonde. "This was just my fault! I should have known better than to push myself so hard! I honestly lost my nerves upon seeing you and Ollie in danger and acted on instinct! I should have done better when it came to saving you both! I'm at fault!"
"It wasn't anyone's fault," Elaine said with a sigh. "I get that you're all feeling bad over what happened and what could have happened, but these are all things that come with being Huntsmen and Huntresses. There are times you get caught by surprise, there are times you get hurt and there are times you see your companions get hurt. Instead of playing a blame game, we should be happy that no one suffered any serious injuries and we should do our best to learn from this whole thing."
"I… I guess you're right," Yang said in a sad tone, as she finally calmed down.
"You bet I am!" the redheaded third-year said happily with a wide grin. She then crouched next to Ruby and flicked her forehead lightly. "Although, I would like to ask our little hero here to avoid pulling such stunts from now. Even if this wasn't as bad as last time, I don't like to see my buddies fall down from exhaustion."
"I'll do my best," Ruby responded with a small smile. "But this isn't such a big deal honestly. I mean, all I need is some rest and then I'm all good. I just can't move around right now and that's about it. It's nowhere near as bad as last time."
"Well obviously!" Isabella said loudly. "I mean, last time you fell unconscious after throwing up blood! Of course this time wasn't as bad as last time!"
Silence fell over the group of Beacon students, as everyone processed what the white-haired third-year had just said. While the other members of team LION were glaring at their loudmouthed teammate for revealing such things, the three members of team RWBY looked horrified.
"Wait! I didn't mean to-!" Isabella tried correcting herself, but it was too late. The members of team RWBY were once again frantically worrying over their former team leader, who was starting to pray in her mind that this whole thing would just come to an end. The white-haired third-year would soon be getting a very angry lecture from her team leader.
After Ruby managed to finally calm down her former teammates, it was time for the group to start preparing the campsite. Tents were set up with one of them being used to house Ruby. Once the tents were ready, the rest of the tasks were handed out.
"Okay, now that the campsite is almost complete, it's time to divide the rest of the work," Elaine said to all the people in the group, with the exception of Ruby, who was resting. "Isabella, Nilo and Blake will go look for some firewood and also check up our surroundings. If you see any Grimm, don't strike unless you're absolutely certain you can take them on. If they seem too much, come back here and get some help. While you three are away, Ollie will be preparing food for us. Weiss and I will stay behind and guard the camp. Sound good?"
"Hey, what about me?" Yang asked. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Oh, you have a special task ahead of you," the redheaded third-year said with a mischievous smirk. "You'll be looking after Ruby."
"Wait, wha-!?"
Elaine put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and pulled her closer to whisper into her ear.
"Hey, I know just how much she matters to you, okay?" Elaine whispered. "It must have been tough for you to stay away from her all this time, but now you have a chance for some time alone with her. Go ahead and talk with her and enjoy your time together as much as you can. You never know when you get another chance like this, right?"
Yang could only blush and stutter like a complete mess, as she didn't know how to respond. While she understood that the older girl wasn't suggesting anything related to her feelings for Ruby, the blonde couldn't help but feel that this was way too convenient. How could it just so happen that she was getting pushed to spending time alone with the girl she liked?
The brawler glanced to the side and saw her two teammates giving her a thumbs-up with smiles on their faces. It was then that she realized what was really behind this. Weiss and Blake had most likely talked to Elaine on their own and asked her to let their team leader spend some alone time with Ruby. Yang felt eternally grateful for the monochrome duo for assisting her in such a way.
With her time alone together with her crush guaranteed, Yang went inside the tent Ruby was resting in. The redhead was laying on the ground in a sleeping bag with her eyes closed, most likely sleeping. The blonde knelt next to the younger girl as silently as possible, doing her best not to wake her up.
Now that she was next to Ruby, Yang took a closer look at the sleeping girl's face. Despite getting transferred to a third-year team, the redhead didn't seem like she had changed at all. She still looked like the innocent girl that she had always been while they had been growing up together.
Yet even if she looked the same, the brawler knew all too well that this wasn't the same innocent and childish girl she used to know. Ruby was now closer to a seasoned fighter, even more than Yang herself was, despite the blonde's tendency of getting into fights and even seeking them out actively.
As the blonde was having these thoughts, Ruby began to slowly open her eyes. The redhead was beginning to wake up.
"Hi, Rubes," Yang nervously greeted the younger girl. "Did I wake you up? Sorry about that."
"No need to worry. I just can't seem to sleep all that well," Ruby answered as she tried to move her body a bit, which was painful. "My body is so sore all over that I doubt I'll be able to fall asleep at all. This sucks."
"Well, that's what happens when you get carried away the way you did!" the brawler playfully scolded the redhead, before her tone turned more serious. "Honestly, Ruby, that was completely reckless of you. Do you have any idea how worried Weiss, Blake and I were when we saw you collapse to the ground the way you did?"
"Believe me, I know. You three made it very clear," the scythe-wielder answered and rolled her eyes. "And I keep telling you that I'm completely fine. There is no need to be so worried over me, okay? I can take care of myself."
"That doesn't mean I can just keep calm about it!" Yang said sternly, which shocked Ruby. "Like it or not, I will worry about you, along with Weiss and Blake, because we care about you! And knowing that you have done a similar thing that was even worse before, we can't help but keep worrying! What if you do something like this again, but there isn't anyone there to save you!? What of we can't be there to help you!? It's pains me to know that you could be in danger, while I can't do anything to help…"
"...I'm sorry," Ruby apologized with a small blush on her face. "I just couldn't watch while those important to me were about to get hurt. It was like that back on my first mission with team LION as well. I just refuse to do nothing when someone I love is in danger. If I had allowed any of you to get hurt, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself anymore."
"We get that, Rubes. I get that, but you still shouldn't put us above yourself like that," the brawler said, now a bit calmer. "When you hurt yourself that way, it actually hurts us a lot more. I just wanted you to understand that, okay?"
"Understood…"
An awkward silence fell over the tent, as the two girls didn't know how to move on from their conversation. Luckily, Yang remembered something that came in handy.
"Oh right! I almost forgot that I brought something with me!" the blonde said happily, as she suddenly exited the tent before coming back right away. "I took these along on the trip, as I was certain you would like them!"
Ruby looked at what Yang had brought and saw that it was a bag of her favorite cookies. The redhead's eyes went wide over seeing her favorite sugary treats.
"Cookies!" Ruby said happily with a shine in her eyes. "Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! I've been so busy with my work that I haven't had a chance to get any for days!"
"Hey, if there's one thing I know about you, it's that you love your cookies," Yang said with a grin as she opened the bag. "While this isn't exactly a healthy meal meant for a recovering patient, I doubt it's going to be such a big deal to have some here."
The young scythe-wielder nodded and went on to grab one of the treats. However, much to her disappointment, she was unable to do so. Just moving her body even an inch was already incredibly hard, and even when she managed to get her hand in the bag, she couldn't get a hold of any of the cookies.
"This sucks… My favorite food is just within reach and I can't even hold it," Ruby said in a depressed tone. "I know life can be cruel, but this is just too much."
"Awww. Don't you worry, Rubes!" Yang said playfully as she took one of the cookies and offered it to the younger girl. "I can just feed you like this, so it's all good!"
Ruby blushed from embarrassment a bit, but took the offered sugary treat with her mouth anyways. Her love for cookies was kind of a big weakness for her, so she couldn't resist all that much.
"Well? Do you like it?" the blonde asked with a smile. "There's plenty more, if you want!"
"...Please don't tell about this to my team," the redhead pleaded almost inaudibly. "I would never hear the end of it, if they found out about this."
"My lips are sealed," Yang promised and grabbed another cookie. "Now open up! No need to be shy about this!"
The two girls went on like that for some time with Yang feeding Ruby cookies, while taking one for herself every now and then. They didn't talk all that much and were simply enjoying each other's company, along with their treats.
Unknown to Ruby, Yang was personally more concentrated on observing the younger girl's face as she ate. The blonde was taking note of all the details she could, especially on how adorable Ruby looked while she was eating with that slightly embarrassed look she had.
Yang also took note of the crumbs that were now stuck to the corners of Ruby's mouth.
"Hey, I think you have something stuck to your face," the brawler suddenly said in a slightly dreamy voice.
"Huh? Really? Where?" the young scythe-wielder asked, completely missing the tone of the older girl's voice. "Darn. If I could properly move my body, I could wipe it off."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Yang said while leaning closer to Ruby. "I can take care of that."
Before the younger girl could say anything more, the older girl's lips were on hers. At first, shock and surprise ran through Ruby, as her face turned as red as her cloak and her eyes went as wide as possible. However, this was soon replaced by pleasure, as the redhead felt herself melt into the unexpected kiss.
Yang herself had put her arms around the smaller girl's body, holding her close and tightly, but still very gently. Right now, the blonde just wanted to keep her beloved redhead to herself as much as possible, without causing any harm.
After a moment of enjoying the kiss, the two girls finally pulled away from each other to breathe. Ruby was still very red in the face and Yang also had a slight blush on her face.
"Yang… I… What just-" Ruby began to stammer, unable to form a complete sentence, only for the older girl to cut her off.
"Ruby, I love you," Yang stated in a serious and calm tone. "I want to be with you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
This declaration of love left the redhead completely speechless, as she could only stare at the older girl with wide eyes. She was about to try to respond, when she noticed a certain other redhead peeking into the tent with a very red face.
"I… was wondering if you two needed anything, but I see that you both have your hands full at the moment," Elaine said with a dumbfounded look on her face.
Neither Ruby or Yang could respond, as they could only stare back at the third-year team leader with equally dumbfounded looks on their own faces.
"So… I'll be just… outside then," Elaine managed to mumble just barely loud enough for the other two girls to hear. "Call me if you need anything."
The third-year team leader quietly left the two younger girls on their own, who were still in a shock from having their kiss witnessed. Ruby soon snapped out of her stupor and began struggling to go after her team leader.
"Dammit, I need to catch up to her and explain this before-!" the young scythe wielder began to say, before a pair of arms took hold of her and pulled her against a warm body.
"Don't mind her for now, okay?" Yang said in a soothing tone. "Just stay here with me. Please."
Realizing that there was nothing she could really do, Ruby resigned to her fate and simply laid against the older girl.
"So… You like me then?" the redhead asked. "As in you like me romantically?"
"...Yes," Yang answered simply and pulled Ruby a bit closer.
"...How long have you felt this way?" the scythe-wielder asked.
"I'm not sure. I think I might have loved you this way for almost as long as we've known each other," the brawler began to explain. "I actually realized my feelings for you soon after you came back from your first mission with team LION. However, I had already been having all sorts of emotions in regards to you. I longed to have you in my arms. I missed seeing you smile to me every day. I was jealous of Elaine and her team of being on such good terms with you. And when you were away on your mission, it was pure agony for me."
"Yang, I don't… I honestly have no idea what to say to you," Ruby said with a deep sigh. "For most of my life, you were the cool and dependable big sister I could always turn to. Then we had our falling out where I felt betrayed by you, after which you honestly became the biggest pain in my butt of all time."
"I'm sorry about that, Rubes," Yang apologized with an embarrassed blush on her face.
"It's in the past now. No point worrying about it now," the redhead said. "However, this is all just such a sudden and big change for me. I had absolutely no idea that you could ever feel like that towards me. Yet after everything we've been through, you drop this bomb on me? You have to admit, it's a lot to take in."
"But is it really that bad!?" the blonde asked desperately. "I mean, I know our circumstances are… special, to say the least, but is it really such a terrible thought? …Am I really such a bad partner candidate?"
"It's not about you. It's more about how… weird this all is," Ruby began to explain with a sigh. "What I'm saying is that we've been through so much together and we have never even considered such a relationship. And that's not even touching how dad… I mean, your dad, would react to such a revelation from us. Can you even imagine it?"
"I'm sure we can get through to him if we try! Not only that, but I'm sure Uncle Qrow will be on our side as well!" Yang argued. "All I care about is to be together with you. That's all I want. Is that so bad?"
For a moment, Ruby was silent, as she thought about what the older girl had said. She then looked Yang in the eyes to speak directly to her.
"Yang, are you sure that I'm the one you want?" the redhead asked in a serious tone. "You're a great person that any guy or gal would like to date, so are you sure that I'm good enough?"
"Of course I am!" the blonde said with a hint of anger in her voice as she tightened her hold on the smaller girl. "If this is about those stupid things I said with Weiss and Blake, we were completely wrong about you! None of us think about you like that anymore, especially me! You're an amazing person that is honestly too good for me, but I still want us to be together! If there are any problems with a relationship between us, it's that we are on different years."
"How's that a problem?" Ruby asked.
"Ever since you left team RWBY, we have barely been in contact with each other. This is the first time in a while that we've been able to see each other," Yang said with a couple of tears falling from her eyes. "Not only that, but you'll be graduating before me as well. While you're going to be making a name for yourself as a Huntress, I'll still be doing my studies in Beacon. What if you find someone better during that time? What if your opinion on me changes? What if-"
The brawler's questions were ended by the scythe-wielder gently flicking her nose. She looked down and saw the love of her life smiling at her.
"Do you really think I'd be so unfaithful that just a little distance would be enough to make me betray you?" Ruby asked playfully. "Besides, it's not like we won't be able to see each other at all. Even if I have my work as a third-year, I can still contact you and make as much time for the two of us, even the whole team RWBY, if I try. And once I graduate, I might be working as a Huntress, but I'll still be able to come visit you when I can."
"Ruby… Are you saying you'll-?" Yang began to ask with wide eyes, but was cut off by the redhead.
"Well, after such a passionate confession, who could say no?" Ruby said with a small grin. "I mean, I don't have any experience on romance or anything like that, but I'm willing to try. At least you've convinced me to give it a shot."
A bright smile lit up on Yang's face as she pulled Ruby into yet another passionate kiss. Despite the challenges they would facing ahead of themselves, the blonde was certain that it would work out. After all, she finally had the most precious thing she could ever want and she was going to make sure that she would never even come near losing it.
Meanwhile outside the tent, Elaine was sitting close to the campfire in a flustered state. She was desperately trying to act all calm and composed, but it was obvious to everyone around that something was terribly wrong with her. The red-haired team leader's face was completely red and she kept nervously playing with her hair. Her eyes were also as wide as possible, as she kept staring straight into nothing.
"E-Ellie?" Nilo called out to his team leader. "I-Is everything okay with you?"
"Yes! Everything is completely alright!" Elaine answered so fast that her teammate barely caught it. "There is absolutely nothing wrong nor is there anything weird going on!"
Nilo wasn't certain how to approach his team leader's dilemma at the moment, as he had never seen her like this before. Luckily, his much larger teammate was there to help with the situation.
"You've been like that ever since you came back from seeing Ruby and Yang. Did you catch them kissing each other or something?" Oliver asked, earning himself a dumbfounded look from his team leader. "Figures. I guess they finally got together then."
"Ruby and Yang are a couple now?" Weiss asked as she and Blake walked up to the third-years after hearing their conversation. "That's a relief. I was afraid of how Ruby might react."
"Yeah. Glad to hear it all apparently worked out," Blake added with a nod.
"S-S-S-So Yang went and confessed to Ruby then?" Nilo asked excitedly. "T-That's great news!"
"HANG ON JUST A FREAKING MOMENT HERE!" Elaine yelled angrily, getting the attention of all the others. "You all knew about this!? How!?"
"Well… We are Yang's teammates," Weiss said in a manner that was like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world. "Wouldn't it be stranger if we didn't know about it?"
"...Okay, you two I can understand," Elaine said before turning her attention to her two male teammates. "But how the hell did you two know!? Did they tell you!?"
"Of course not. I just found it odd how clingy and obsessed Yang seemed to be towards Ruby," Oliver explained. "Once I had the chance, I asked Weiss and Blake about it. They then explained the whole situation to me."
"I-I kind of found it strange as well, so I asked Ollie," Nilo said. "That's how I found out about it."
"...So you guys just figured it out on your own then?" Elaine grumbled, unhappy and embarrassed that she seemed to be the only one that was left not knowing about Yang and Ruby. "Well, at least I am not the only one that was left in the dark completely. I mean, Isabella doesn't know yet, right?"
Before the redhead's teammates could answer, said white-haired third-year walked up to them with her attention on the two team RWBY members.
"Hey, how are things going on with Yang and Ruby?" Isabella asked. "Was Yang able to get herself a kiss from her crush or not?"
Elaine felt the color drain from her face upon hearing what her teammate said.
"From what we heard, it seems like it," Weiss said with a smile on her face. "If nothing else, they seem to have gotten together at the very least."
"Dammit. I was certain Yang would get shot down," Isabella whined as she pulled out her wallet and handed cash to Weiss and Blake. "Still, a deal is a deal and you guys won the bet. I still think Ruby could do a lot better."
"ARE YOU FOR FREAKING REAL!?" Elaine screamed angrily. "EVEN ISABELLA KNEW ABOUT THIS!? HOW!?"
"How couldn't I? It was so obvious with the way Yang acted towards Ruby," Isabella answered. "Of course, I didn't figure this out before Ruby became part of our team, but I still did it. You should get your eyes checked out, if you're unable to see something so obvious, Ellie."
"So all this time. All. This. TIME. You five knew about this and never told me!?" the redheaded third-year accused the others around her. "Did anybody ever consider telling ME about this!?"
Weiss and Blake looked at each other for a second, before turning their attention to the irate third-year.
"We're on completely different classes and barely ever see each other. How were either of us supposed to tell you?" Weiss asked while Blake nodded in agreement.
"I simply just enjoyed the idea of knowing about something you didn't for once," Isabella said with a smug smirk.
"I didn't feel like it was necessary to tell you," Oliver said with a shrug.
"I-I was certain that you would figure it out on your own, s-since I could," Nilo explained.
"JERKS! ALL OF YOU!" Elaine yelled at her teammates before grabbing Nilo and walking away from the rest of the group, before sitting down on the ground with the young boy on her lap. "I'll just stay here, since none of you respect me!"
"Ummm…. E-Ellie?" Nilo called out to his team leader. "W-Why am I here?"
"Because you're the only one who is nice to me," the redheaded team leader said while hugging her small teammate. "That's why I'm keeping you around."
The other two members of team LION, along with Weiss and Blake, could only stare at the third-year team leader's childish antics.
"Is it always like this with your team?" Blake asked Oliver while pointing at the giant's team leader. "She certainly isn't living up to the image of a cool and collected leader at all."
"Trust me, this isn't even the worst of it," Oliver said with a sigh. "Usually she gets into fights with Isabella over the dumbest of things that often lead to them bringing out their weapons."
"Ollie! The kids didn't need to know that!" Isabella yelled at her teammate with an embarrassed blush.
"Well, how about you two grow up and stop wrecking the dorm?" the tall boy retorted. "I had to get a new bed last week, because you two decided to fight over a game of Monopoly!"
"That game was rigged and you know it!" the white-haired third-year argued childishly. "Besides, the luxury tax is total crap…"
"Whatever the case might be with your team, I know we are happy," Weiss said with a big smile as she counted the money she had won from Isabella. "It's always good to be right and make some cash thanks to it."
"Isn't that pretty much pocket money for you, Weiss?" Blake asked while counting her own winnings.
"While that's true, it's never a bad thing to have more," the heiress answered with a small smirk. "Not to mention, I just love to be proven right at any chance."
The cat faunus was about to speak again, but she was cut off by someone coming up from behind. This person put a hand on the heads of both Weiss and Blake with a rather strong grip. The two girls felt their blood run cold as they slowly turned their heads to see a very angry Yang Xiao Long staring at them with red eyes.
"I just heard about you two making bets over how my confession to Rubes would go," Yang said while shaking from anger. "Mind explaining that to me?"
"She was in it as well!" Blake cried out while pointing at Isabella.
"Yeah! Besides, we bet that Ruby would accept you!" Weiss argued.
"Doesn't matter. I should be able to trust you two not to pull this type of crap on me behind my back," the blonde argued back. "As for Isabella, I'm not really expecting much from her."
"Was that a compliment or an insult?" said third-year asked her teammate.
"Figure that out for yourself," Oliver answered with a sigh.
"Anyways, I do NOT appreciate my teammates trying to use my love life as a way to make a quick buck!" Yang yelled at her terrified teammates. "Do you know what that means?"
"You'll say that you're very disappointed at us and make us promise never to do it again?" Blake suggested fearfully.
"Nope."
"W-We'll give you the money and you let us go with a stern talking?" Weiss said hopefully.
"Close. I am taking the money, but that's only the start," Yang replied. "Besides that, I'M KICKING YOUR ASSES!"
Back inside Ruby's tent, the young redhead was listening to the noise outside and let out a deep sigh.
"Good to see those three are still the same as always," Ruby mumbled to herself as she laid back in her sleeping back. "Guess no matter how much things change, some things just stay the same, huh?"
In all honesty, the young scythe-wielder was glad to see that her friends from team RWBY were not only doing well, but still the way they had been when she left their team. She had actually been a bit worried over how the three older girls might have changed ever since she parted ways with them. Now all those worries were gone.
Ruby touched her lips and blushed as she thought about the one thing she had not expected at all. The fact that Yang of all people had confessed to her and even went as far as to kiss her had been one of the last things she would have ever seen coming. However, not only had that actually happened, but the two of them were a couple now.
As she laid there, ready to fall asleep from the fatigue on her body, Ruby couldn't help but smile as she thought about what the future might hold for her. While she knew there would inevitably be trouble ahead, she was certain that it would all be alright in the end. Not only did she her new teammates from LION, but she would still have her friends from RWBY as well, all of whom would help her out no matter what. Especially a certain blonde brawler.
Just before she fell asleep, Ruby managed to see Yang come back to the tent and sit next to her. As she closed her eyes and began to slip into dreams, she felt a pair of lips give her a kiss on the forehead.
Needless to say, the redhead slept well that night with a big smile on her face.
Author's notes: Here's the second ending for this story. Apologies for taking so long, but I've been preoccupied with a lot of stuff lately, which is something that will be further explained by a message I'll be posting here. Be sure to check it out.
I don't really have much to say here. I'm honestly both glad and sad that this is over. However, I still wanted to at least finish this story for all of the people that have been following and supporting it. It meant a lot to me.
As for which ending is "canon", you can decide it for yourself. I don't feel like forcing anyone to choose either.
Thank you all for the support.
JustAnotherGuy04
RWBY belongs to Monty Oum.
